Dear resident
The Town Council was pleased to once again contribute to the annual Christmas Fayre and Christmas Lights Switch-on in Bingley town centre, and you can read more about the winning design for the town’s new Christmas light below!
Interviews are being held this week for the Town Council’s new Environmental Warden post, and we hope to have news of the outcome of these shortly.
We would strongly encourage you to take part in the engagement exercise being undertaken by Bradford Council, which is seeking residents’ views on the future of Bingley Library following the agreement of substantial cuts in the Libraries Service. We give the information you need below, and the survey closes on 20 December.
Don’t miss the final monthly market of the year on Saturday 7 December, featuring a live performance by the Bradford and Airedale Youth Choir. Publicity materials featuring all the dates for 2020 markets are now available at various locations throughout the town.
Kind regards,
Helen Owen
Chair, Bingley Town Council
Christmas Lights Switch-on and competition winner
Another successful Christmas Fayre and Lights Switch-on took place on Saturday 30 November, organised as usual by Bingley Chamber of Trade and volunteers.
Amongst the lights on the trees and lamp-posts this year was a new light designed by 8-year-old Chloe Haran from Eldwick Primary School. Chloe won the Town Council’s 2019 competition for pupils at local schools to come up with an idea for a new Christmas light, and was presented with her prize by Stuart McCall. Congratulations Chloe!
At its full council meeting on 26t November, the Town Council approved additional expenditure on some new Christmas rope lights in Crossflatts. The Town Council’s light provider/installer has advised that they will be lit in time for the Crossflatts Christmas lights switch-on taking place on 8 December at 5 pm.
Future of Bingley Library – your views needed by 20 December
Bradford Council is currently undertaking an engagement exercise that seeks feedback from Bingley residents about the future of the library. This is in the light of budget cuts to the Library Service of £1.05m that have been agreed for the financial year 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021.
A survey is available for completion online and hard copies are available in the library itself. The deadline for completion is Friday 20 December. Bradford Council would like residents to tell them what they want out of a library network and to help shape proposals that will be drawn up when the engagement ends. The proposals will be published and will then be subject to formal consultation before any final decisions are taken in the New Year.
The Town Council has agreed its own submission, which strongly supports the importance of the library service in its current form and includes points raised by residents who attended the full council meeting on 26 November.
There is a link to the online survey here – https://www.bradford.gov.uk/consultations/current-consultations/libraries-service-engagement/ and also links to the background documents, such as a profile of Bingley Library, which will be useful to read in advance.
Climate Emergency Working Group (CEWG)
The Council’s Climate Emergency Working Group has begun its work by aligning its focus with that of Bradford Council. Strategy documents from Bradford Council are still awaited, but its initial strands of work have included a focus on energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The Town Council has written to local meeting space providers and Bradford Council to ask whether a renewable source of energy is used in their premises and what energy-saving measures are in place. It is also making enquiries into Bradford Council’s ‘Better Homes’ initiative to find out how householders can benefit from the energy-saving measures provided.
The Neighbourhood Plan Working Group is being asked to include provisions in the plan relating to energy efficiency in housing, reducing the need to own and use a car, and integrating renewable energy schemes into developments. The Emergency Planning sub-committee is being asked to identify the most vulnerable people in the areas most at risk of flooding or high heat levels and target adaptation policies and actions to these areas.
The Town Council is due to review its grants scheme for community groups and it is hoped that this will include some prioritisation of projects or schemes or a designated allocation of funding. Other work pending approval by full council is identified in the minutes of CEWG meetings available on our website: https://bingleytowncouncil.gov.uk/documents/
Plastic Free Charter
The Town Council has agreed an Events Charter that seeks to encourage the organisers of events in the town to reduce their use of single-use plastic.
The document was proposed by the Plastic Free Bingley group, which is supported by the Town Council through the involvement of a number of councillors. When finalised, the Charter will be promoted through social media and the Town Council will make a copy available to any organisers it has contact with.
Single-use plastic items being highlighted include drinks bottles, carrier bags, disposable coffee cups and lids, single-use cups, food or product packaging, balloons, straws, cutlery, sachets and bathroom plastics.
Office/toilets conversion project
Following the minor re-design of the interior of the toilet block in Jubilee Gardens, interested contractors have now submitted their revised proposals. These are currently being scrutinised by the Town Council’s project managers, Bowman Riley, as part of a final value engineering process, and it is hoped that the Council will be in a position to appoint a contractor shortly.
Regarding the proposed Changing Places facility in Bingley Pool, the Town Council is still waiting for a final response from Bradford Council to the specification and quotation submitted in respect of the necessary electrical work.
Dates for your diary
Saturday 7 December – Monthly market, 9 am to 1 pm, Bingley Market Square
Saturday 7 December – Community Litter Pick, 10 am to 11 am only, meeting at the bandstand in Myrtle Park
Saturday 18 January 2020 – Green and Clean Forum, 10 am to 12 pm, Cardigan House, Ferncliffe Road, Bingley
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The next ordinary meeting of the Town Council is at 6.30pm on:
Tuesday 17 December 2019, Bingley Baptist Church, Clyde Street, Bingley, BD16 4LJ
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You can see all our meeting dates in the calendar of the Events section of our website, and a full listing is available as a separate document, updated weekly, in the Documents section of the site.
Finally….if you’ve made it this far, please do share this newsletter with friends and family and encourage them to subscribe too.
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